NuvaRing and lower back pain

I absolutely hated myself on the NuvaRing. I put it in, excited about the prospect of not having to take pills everyday, and almost immediately, I was curled up on the couch with debilitating cramps and lower back pain. I thought maybe it was because my muscles were reacting strangely to having something foreign, but the pain never went away. Not for the entire month I was on it!

I tried it one additional time and took it out after two weeks, suffering from the same symptoms as well as a painfully drastic decrease in sex drive. I'll never use the NuvaRing again.

I have been using The Nuvaring for 2 months now, 3 days ago I removed the second ring, and it will be my last!
I have been bent over with chronic lower back pain for 4 days now, the only time that I have felt such pain is when I was in labor 11 years ago!
I am very concerned and in pain and will be going to the hospital tomorrow if I see no improvement. I am 31 years old and I do smoke. I also have a rash that is very itchy on my neck this has been troubling me for 6 weeks now!

I haven't even been on NuvaRing for a whole month, but I have noticed several side effects. First I had severe lower back pain, similar to the pain I had during my first pregnancy. I have also been depressed, and tonight when I should have been enjoying sex with my husband, I discovered just how much my sex drive had diminished. I was so dry, and that never happens! I am taking NuvaRing out for good in three days. Thanks to all who have posted here. I am now certain that my problems are related to the NuvaRing.

I started using the nuvaring on August 24 for the first time. That was the first day of my period. My periods usually last four days but I have bad cramps. My gyno prescribed the nuvaring to stop the cramps. Well this month I had the worse cramps that I have ever had. My period lasted for six days and then started the brown smelly discharge, headaches, lower back pain, tiredness and irritability. I got on the internet to research the side effects of the ring and could not find my symptoms on any of the medical sites. I found this site and found that my symptoms have been experienced by most women using the ring. It has been years, approximately 9, since I used any kind of birth control and I know my body well so I know that the nuvaring is causing these problems. I am going to talk to my gyno about it and will probably seek some other method of relieving the extreme cramping that does not cause other problems. I do not see the sense in stopping one problem but causing 10 others.

I was on the Nuvaring for 6 months in 2006 but had to stop because I lost my insurance coverage. I had no side effects back then, except abnormal clots in my period.

I just started it again a month ago, I'm on my fourth week and have to put the new one on on Monday. I have no other side effects while the ring is in, but since I started my period yesterday I have had bad cramps and very bad lower back pain. I never usually get cramps during my period without birth control. I also have the blood clots again.
Is this a bad side effect that could be effecting the health of my body overall?

This site is like a moth to a flame for me.

I took my damned ring out a week & a half ago after finding this site & reading so many testimonies & side effects I could have written myself that it wasn't even funny. This makes me so mad that a freaking pharmaceutical product could make so many women this sick without being recalled. And what the heck is wrong with all the doctors not being able to tell any of us what was causing all these problems?

In the fifteen months I was on NuvaRing I have seen every type of doctor you can imagine. Including TWO neurosurgeons who wanted to do TWO different types of surgery on me. BOTH docs sent me for MRI's of my pelvic region/lower back & KNEW I was on NuvaRing. I mean, I know it was CLEARLY right there in the middle of both the results of those MRI's!

So why did it take me finally figuring it out by using GOOGLE?

I've had chronic lower back pain (diagnosed degenerative disc disease in JUNE), severe pelvic pain & cramping (diagnosed pelvic inflammatory in JANUARY), UTI's turning into kidney infections that were so bad I went to the emergency room in APRIL, another UTI & kidney infection in JANUARY, not being able to sit or stand for more than a few minutes without severe pain, leg pains & weakness that two neurosurgeons couldn't figure out WHY they were happening, anxiety, depression, terrible temper, severe fatigue, headaches, stinging painful feeling in my vagina, high blood pressure (that has to be treated with expensive blood pressure meds now) etc etc etc.

I can't believe my husband has stuck around through all of this. When they say the first year of marriage is tough, they weren't joking around huh? The person that said that must have used the NuvaRing their first year of marriage too.

Please, if you are thinking of using this product or are leery to stop it - JUST TAKE THE THING OUT! and DON'T USE THIS PRODUCT! It's just not worth it to feel this bad for convenience sake. Not even slightly.

PS - For those of you who want to say something like "Oh it works for me. You just had a bad reaction."...

That's like saying just because some people don't get cancer from cigarettes that they are still a good product.

i am 25 years old and have been on orthotricyclen for years. i quit taking the pill about a year ago when i became single. three months ago i met the most wonderful man ever so i decided to get back on birth control. my doctor suggested the NuvaRing. sounded interesting so i decided to give it a try. she suggested that i leave it in for a month at a time, (taking it out and immediately inserting a new one at the first of every month) i find it hugely strange that so many women on these posts have been recommended to leave it in for such different time intervals. some for three weeks, some for a month...and some for three months at a time!!

for the first month i had extreme lower back pain, awful headaches, an eye twitch or two, and just had a nosebleed the other day for the first time in like 10 years!

for the year that i was off of birth control, i was so happy. i was on the pill for almost 9 years! since starting the NuvaRing, i think i cry hysterically like 4 times a week, when before it was almost never (once a month). my boyfriend is starting to think I'm crazy. i can't even have a simple adult discussion with him without losing it. i have also yelled a a few people at work recently.....not like me at all!

i took the ring out a week ago and do not plan on using it anymore. the symptoms have not stopped yet, but I'm hoping i will be back to normal soon.

i also had my period for three weeks when i wasn't supposed to and now is the "off" week and i have nothing but spotting. definitely do not feel like the NuvaRing is good for me at all!

LOWER BACK PAIN!!!
Since having my son 4 yrs ago, I've had horrible PMS. My Doc recommended using the ring and replacing it every 28 days without a "bleed week" to reduce my hormonal roller-coaster. The first month was great - no significant PMS and no period. But the last few days (25-28) before replacing the ring I had horrible headaches. Month #2 was the same but with the addition of lower back pain. Month #3 the lower back pain increased. I just inserted my 4th ring last week and the lower back pain is still tremendous. It hurts to bend over or cough. I'm beginning to wonder if I have an infection of some sort instead of just a side effect.

How long does it take for the side effects to get out of my body??? I have been on the NuvaRing for 5 months. At first I did not have bad side effects, besides I didn't stop bleeding. Once that got better, horrible side effects began. I have headaches, lower back pain, bad leg aches, some abdominal pains at times, anxiety, and moodiness. It would suit me fine to stay in my pjs in bed and sleep all day!! I have no motivation or energy. This is NOT like me!! I feel like I have been living someone else life...my poor kids and husband!! So, after months of my Dr. telling me my body would adjust, I took the ring out yesterday!! I am so ready to be back to myself!!!

I started using NR almost two weeks ago and it had cause me nauseas, headaches and a very hard lower back pain, so bad that it wakes me up in the night. Do anyone knows if something bad can happen if I take it out before day 21?

Thanks. Ruvene

I am 27 I have been using the Nuvaring for almost two months now.... I have had headaches everyday, motion sickness, severe lower back pain, mood swings, lack of sex drive, I have been spotting and bleeding for 2 weeks now! I am crying at anything anymore.... I have been getting irritated by everything and anything... I have seriously been thinging that I was losing my ming and that there was something seriously wrong with me, I have even went as far as requesting to see a neurologist beacuse of the headaches, my god is all of these things that have been happening to me because of the nuvaring???? I have been so worried and upset, I have to be on BC so does anyone have any ideas? And am I just going crazy?

I've been on the ring for four full months now and am the most pleased with this than any other birth control I've been on. This is the first method that I didn't feel super moody and irritable. I'm completely myself and am not wanting to eat everything in sight. I have had only slight side effects, such as lower back pain, but it definitely lessened after I completed three full cycles. My periods are also super light and short. Before I started birth control my periods were 7 days and I had to change my super tampon every 2 - 3 hours for days. Now they're barely 3 days and I only use regular tampons that last the full 8 hours. I do have more discharge than normal and I have breakouts during the second week, but it can easily be covered by makeup. I'm going to change birth control pills for a few months to see if I can find one that doesn't have those side effects, but if not then I'm switching back.

I am just about to finish my 3rd month of nuvaring. I have never been able to take the pill (I either vomit, or bleed non-stop). I have been having side effects that are increasing daily. I have a bit of lower back pain, started bleeding the day before I took it out on the 2nd month. I have been spotting this month since Thursday of last week, and have 3 more days before I am supposed to take it out. I am using a tampon today because it is so heavy.
I have nausea that comes in waves for the first 10 days. I also have severe breast tenderness.
I have minor headaches in the early evenings. I am not a headache person; never really have them.
The worst part is is the panic attacks (which I have never had). It starts with me holding my breath, tightness in my chest, and severe anxiety. I have felt weepy and out of control. It is getting worse the longer I am on it. It feels like someone else is driving my feelings. I don't recognize myself, nor my reactions to things. I feel a bit paranoid about things. My fears have been irrational. I feel sad, and cry for no reason at some point every day. On the 6th day after I put it in, each month, I have cried the entire day. I am taking it out tomorrow after I speak to my doctor, and getting an IUD. This is a nightmare. I also have night sweats. I also think it is pushing on my bladder. I feel like I have to urinate all the time, and then I sit down to pee the tiniest amount imaginable, and I do not have the ability to push my urine out quickly, which I could do before the ring was in. I had my doctor check me for a UTI, or any other problem like that, but I was "fine."

I've been on the NR for 4 months and was really happy with it.... A little discharge and I knew it was from the ring because I don't ever have discharge but it was not bad at all. This past month I started having the most horrible LOWER BACK PAIN. I started mattress shopping and ALMOST bought a $4000.000 mattress to fix the problem.. Then it came time to remove the NR and within 1 minute (or less) of removing my back pain completely went away and I'm again sleeping like a baby, when before I was up most the night with lower back pain. I haven't seen lower back pain as a side effect so I just wanted to post to see if anyone might have the same problem. Not sure if it was just in the wrong spot and I should try again this next month or not..

I started having sex for the first time a few months ago with my boyfriend, so I decided to go to the Obgyn and get on birth control for the first time. Before I went to the doctor I did quite a bit of research to decide what type of birth control I wanted to get. I got to the doctor and she suggested NuvaRing. I hadn’t considered the option much but from what she said it sounded very convenient and simple. I liked the fact that you could just leave it in and not worry about it. She told me that she had many patients who really liked it and didn’t list many side effects that sounded too unbearable. I decided to start it but regretted it very soon after. The first week went fine and I didn’t notice any side effects at all. Then about a week after ending my period, I started another one! At first I thought it might just be spotting because it was listed as a side effect and the bleeding wasn’t heavy at all. I kept waiting for it to go away but it kept on coming, and getting worse! Three days into it I was bleeding more than I do during a normal period. I keep waiting for it to stop but I just keep bleeding and it’s now been going for seven days, four days longer than my periods normally last. It also smells really bad and has a brownish color that is not usually present in my normal periods. I am extremely annoyed and don’t really know what’s happening. I feel really gross all the time and have absolutely no sex drive. Although I haven’t even had sex since starting the ring because of this never-ending bleeding, any other type of sexual activity I engage in either hurts or just doesn’t interest me at all. I have also had cramps and lower back pain persistently since I started using the ring. These pains haven’t been excruciating, but they certainly have been annoying. I thought these were the only side effects until I found this site and started reading. I have been considerably more moody and irritable lately and never really made the connection until now. I don’t usually have too many fights with my boyfriend but lately we have been constantly fighting for really no reason at all. He seems to avoid me and we have been spending a lot less time together and it’s making me quite depressed. I am irritable and impatient at work and everything and everyone seems to annoy me. I am uptight and have trouble letting lose and having fun or finding joy in simple things. I recently had a close friend die, and I just figured this was the cause of all of my emotional problems, but after reading all this I’m starting to think it is NuvaRing that’s causing all these problems! I also read some things about women getting cold sores because of this product, and guess what? I’m getting a cold sore! I’m definitely going to start looking for a new birth control option. I’m very disappointed because at first I thought NuvaRing was a great, simple, convenient option but it’s not at all worth all these side effects.

I was given nuvaring to stop heavy periods and excrutiating cramps, my dr. directed me to insert the ring every 28 days for 3mths then take it out the fourth week and have a period put it back in on the seventh day and keep repeating this every 3mths giving me a period a total of 4 times a year. The first month was fine but unfortunately 2 weeks into the second month everything went downhill and I had to pull it out. First there was bleeding then i was nauseous, breast were sore, terrible cramps, lower back pain, headaches and i want to sleep all day not sure about moodiness b/c I was moody anyway but I was'nt depressed i could have been had I of stayed on it dealing with the side effects this causes. I just took it out July 2nd and am still bleeding, cramping and have nausea and back pain, I wonder how long this is going to take to get out of my system b/c I am miserable. I made a dr.'s appt they want to switch me to something else and I will REFUSE! I was on the pill several years ago and they made me nauseous but they did help my period some but I quit those too, I will remain doped up on 800 milligrams of advil the week of my period before I accept anymore birth control it is not worth the agony it is putting us through.

A Nuvaring proponent and user for 4 years (I started when it was first available on the US market) I decided to stop using it 2 weeks ago after reading some horrifying posts regarding the exponential increase in risk of stroke and pulmonary embolism in women who are 1.)35+ and 2.) smokers. What was most frightening, was the fact that most of the women who have died or are wheelchair bound, due to Nuvaring complications are under 30 and non-smokers.
The reason I have continued my research is because I have realized that for the past two years, I have experienced what I now believe to be side effects. I never had PMS before using the ring. With each year of use, my PMS has become more severe and of longer duration -- up to 2 weeks prior to my period. I have had horrible lower back pain for over 1 year, and x-rays from my chiropractor indicate no symptoms of a structural problem. Even after PT, the pain didn't subside. Additionally, I have experienced the mood swings and depression other women on this site report. I was constantly anxious, frustrated for no apparent reason, angry, and short-tempered to the point of volatile. The change in my personality has been obvious and rather disturbing. I am relieved to know that this shift might have been related, and I am curious to know how I will feel as the hormones from the ring are purged from my system. I am now choosing to use a non-hormonal contraceptive -- the sponge. It's easy, safe, convenient, and not dangerous to my health.

Something all women need to remember -- We are still guinea pigs for the health and pharmaceutical industries. Until women stand up and demand fair and equal respect for their health and welfare (that means vote - and not for those on the side of big business !!!) and stop supporting industries and politicians who LIMIT choices for women, this problem is NOT going away. The Nuvaring is just another example....

I used NuvaRing for my last semester (~5 months) in college, so when I was looking for birth control (besides condoms) again I told the doctor I was not as interested in the NR due to previous experience. I told her that I had felt depressed overall, and I spent at least a week crying in bed when I first started it back then. She told me that those side effects were not common, stated the low-dose of estrogen, etc etc. I thought maybe it was the stress from college, and agreed to give it a second try. I wanted something more convenient than the pill and the low-dose appealed to me.

After trying it again, I know I was not being crazy the first time. This website also helped me realize that this is a lot more common than I thought. I put in my new ring two weeks ago. I didn't spend those two weeks severely depressed, but after about a week or so I began to get very high-strung and irritated by small things. Minor incidents left me in tears, I felt restless and insecure, paranoid, and generally unhappy. When I was visitting family for a weekend my father claimed that I seemed a lot more paranoid and unsettled than he had ever seen me, and I played it off for lack of sleep and the stress from travelling. Nothing changed over the next week, though.

This past weekend I had oddly severe lower back pain, which I never suffer from. I spent a few hours in bed crying. My boyfriend asked me what was the matter and all I could say was "I'm not happy." Later in the weekend I said "Why have I been so unhappy for the past two weeks?" and he urged me to take out the ring. When we got home I took it out and it was a breath of fresh air. I felt better immediately... I felt more at peace and my entire body felt relaxed.

A health consultant told me that reactions to hormone based birth control can depend on the "type" of estrogen used in the dose. It would be interesting to find out how the chemicals in NR compare to those in combined oral contraceptive pills. At any rate, no more NuvaRing for me!

I have been on the NR for 3 months now and have had a severe headache that started after the first time I took out the ring. It was thought to be a sinus infection, but after having a CAT scan they ruled it out. It is now 2 months later and I still have the headache. I removed the ring a few days ago and will not be putting it back in. I have also had very bad heartburn, cramps, and lower back pain for a month as well. I have been unable to eat properly and have lost 13lbs so far. This is the only thing new I have been taking. My head hurts above my eyes, top of my head, and the back of my head and neck. The pain above my eyes is a sharp pain and the pain on my head and neck is more of a numbing pain. My scalp is very sensitive as well. I do feel this is from the ring and I am having a bad reaction. Hopefully I will be feeling better in a few days...

I have been on the Nuvaring for 8 months, and I finally got to the end of my rope tonight and removed it forever.

The biggest problem for me was the loss of sex drive. I didn't realy attribute it to the ring at first, but I now have almost no sex drive whatsoever. I almost loathe having sex with my boyfriend - I feel like it's a chore. When I do feel like I'm in th emood, my body sort of betrays me; I can't lubricate myself very well, and once we get started, I don't really feel "into it."

The other problems I hadn't really even considered were side effects of the ring, but here are some other things that have been bothering my life within the past 8 months: swollen breasts, intense lower back pain, total loss of energy. Much like the woman who posted before me, I used to be very physically active - I was running 15-20 miles a week, and since I started the ring, I have felt very lethargic. Running and exercise used to be a huge part of my life, and now I get to the gym once a week if at all and then I'm there, I don't feel the same energy I once had...

The lower back pain was indescribable. It was so terrible at one point that I had to take off work for two days because it kept me awake at night crying in pain. I practically lived with a heating pad on my back for two weeks because it was so terrible. When I went to the doctor, he found it strange that I couldn't attribute the pain to a particiular incident... I wonder now if it was a result of the ring.

But, as I said, I threw the towel in, so to speak, on the ring, mainly so my boyfriend and I can get back to a normal sex life. I will update in a few weeks when the hormones have worn off.

I have felt cramping and lower back pain and I just started the ring 9 days ago on the first day of my cycle and have not stopped bleading

I have horrid lower back pain. I never had it before and the week I take it out for my period, the pain goes away. I, too, I have experienced the diminishing sex drive. I mean I'm single and not having too much sex anyway, but when I do have it, it's like ......oh lawd. I don't even think I'm getting "horny" like I used to.

I'm going to the doctor this coming Friday and going to ask for something else I think.

I am so glad I found this site. I have been on the ring for about six months now. I have decided to not use after this month. I have severe vaginal discharge and it is very gross and it makes me feel so unclean down there. And no matter how much you clean or take a bath it is always the same. Also my sex drive has hit rock bottom. I used to love sex and enjoy it and now I could care less. I have the lower back pain and also the stomach cramps. It is a good form of birth control in the sense that you don't have to remember to take a pill and it works but the side effects out weigh the benefits for me.

After 3 months on Nuvaring, nearing the 3rd week, I experienced crippling lower back pain, like I've never had in my life. Muscle spasms to the point were I couldn't stand or walk. I had not injured my back or strained it. I couldn't understand it. Went to Dr. Was given muscle relaxant. Made no connection at the time. The meds. helped loosen the tightness and pain. Pain was gone 4-5 days later. Low and behold, 28 days later, it started all over again! Intense lower back pain. It was so debilatating, I took the ring out a week early, suspecting that it was the culprit. By the next day my pain had subsided and by the third day it was all but gone. I've also heard from another woman who experienced the same symptoms. I'm going to call the manufacturer and my Dr. and tell them. I urge others to do the same. Obviously, not everyone has this side affect, but I want to know what permanent damage, if any, it's had on my body!!!

I am 31 years old - I was on the pill (4 different ones) for 14 years. I decided to stop last year and start using a diaphragm. It was great - even lost 5 pounds! My doctor asked if I had ever considered using NUVA Ring b/c fertility can return quickly when stopped - I gave it a shot. First mistake was to go back on horomones....but, the side effects of NUVA Ring were horrible. After 4 months, I removed it. I had severe headaches, nausea, weight gain of 5 pounds (and I work out 6 times a week), dizziness, extreme lower back pain, acne, facial puffiness and terrible moodiness. How about the total lack of sex drive too? It was so bad that I removed it mid-cycle. It's back to the diaphragm for me - it's a little messy but well worth it - especially to go horomone free!